Operation Arachnid
by blackkittycat89
Summary: Steve's afraid of spiders. Luckily, Peggy and Bucky know how to take care of it.
Steve ran one final lap around the block before he jogged up the stairs to the brownstone. He toed off his shoes and was pulling off his socks when he heard a noise in the kitchen. Leaving the shoes and socks behind in the hallway, he walked into the kitchen to find Peggy making breakfast.

"Oh, bacon and eggs. Can I get some of that?" he asked, kissing her cheek.

Peggy handed him a spatula. "You can if you finish making it yourself. I have a conference call anyway." She waited for him to take her place at the stove before she playfully slapped his ass. "You look far too sexy doing that. Must be the tight shirt." She was humming as she left the kitchen.

Steve watched her walk away and then remembered the eggs. As he was buttering his toast, he heard Peggy talking to Maria Hill about the cost of a previous mission. Tuning out the conversation, Steve went back to enjoying his breakfast.

By the time he had finished cleaning up after himself, Peggy's conference call had moved on to Tony's plan to renovate Avengers HQ. "No, I don't think Bucky would mind if you turn his room into an office, but you should definitely still ask him."

Steve knocked on the door. He mouthed the word "bath" to Peggy and went back into the hallway to pick up his socks. When he got upstairs, he stripped down to his shorts and threw his dirty clothes in the general direction of the laundry basket. He grabbed a clean towel. He went to open the bathroom door, but Bucky beat him to it.

"You back already?"

"Good morning to you too, sweetheart!"

"Don't call me that," Bucky said before kissing Steve. "You could've waited until we woke up too. We could've all gone out for a run."

"Nah. You and Peggy looked like you needed the extra sleep after last night." He winked.

"Alright, old man, you enjoy your nice long soak. Call out if you need one of us to help you out the tub." Bucky clapped Steve on the shoulder before going downstairs in search of his own breakfast.

Steve failed to come up with a clever reply. He shook his head and closed the bathroom door behind him. "Maybe I could've used some extra sleep too," he muttered to himself as he sniffed the bottle of bath foam.

* * *

"Peggy, can you come in here please?"

He waited a minute before calling out again.

"Peggy? Come on, I know you can hear me."

There was a knock on the door.

"Just get in here!"

The door opened just enough for Peggy to stick her head inside the bathroom. "Everything alright, darling?"

"Spider."

She opened the door completely and came in. "Where's the big bad spider?"

"Right there. On the wall above the sink."

Peggy tilted her head. "You mean the one all the way up the wall near the ceiling? God, it's so big. I don't know if I'll be able to handle it by myself."

Steve snorted. "That's what he said."

She smiled at him. "Bucky! I'm going to need your help with this one."

"Please. Don't."

Bucky walked into the bathroom. "You do know there are probably a few dozen spiders all around this house right now, right?"

Steve sighed. "Believe me, I know. You keep reminding me of that very fact."

"Just trying to be helpful. Right, how are we going to handle this one? Blowtorch?"

"I was thinking I'd stand on a chair and get the little bugger down and you trap it underneath a glass?"

"Come on, Peggy, where's your sense of adventure?"

"I like this bathroom. I'd rather not burn it down because Steve's afraid of spiders."

"Fine. Be a killjoy," he teased as he went to look for a chair and a glass.

Peggy turned to the bath. "So, seen any good movies lately?"

"It's moving."

"Maybe it has restless legs. They have eight of those, you know."

Bucky came back and passed Peggy the chair. She positioned it and got on it, grabbing a towel to swat at the spider. It fell and scurried across the floor for a second before Bucky trapped it underneath the glass.

"Is this why you're so afraid of Natasha?" he asked Steve as he manoeuvred a piece of cardboard underneath the rim of the glass. "Did this start when that Parker kid took your shield from you?"

"Just hurry up and get that thing out of here." He looked at Peggy. "Why are you still standing on that chair?"

"Enjoying the view," she smirked. "All the bubbles are gone."

"The view's not that bad from down here either." Bucky brought the glass to eye level. "Let's get you outisde so Steve can get out of that tub and thank Peggy and me for saving him." He walked out of the bathroom and down the stairs, still talking to the spider.

Peggy picked up the chair and moved to follow him. She leaned back into the bathroom. "When you get out of the tub? Don't bother getting dressed."

Steve heard them laugh downstairs. He grabbed his towel. Bucky was right, he definitely owed them an elaborate thank you.


End file.
